All About the Pine Bonsai

Both outdoor and indoor bonsai trees come in a wide variety of species. Some can be good choices for your yard while others are better left to the professionals. So in order to learn what there is to know about the different kinds of bonsai species, you’ve got to learn about them one at a time.

The pine bonsai is a popular species worth learning more about.

The Basics of a Pine Bonsai

Largely made of nothing but big needles, bunched together in groups of 2-5, the pine bonsai is made up of over 150 different species including shrubs and evergreen. It’s a staple in Japan and can be found used as bonsai trees in yards and as shrubs in Japanese gardens.

They have their own strange growth patterns, and are hard to care for and prune unless you are well versed in pine bonsai species. This species is hard to style in order to make it look like a general bonsai, but it definitely can be done. If you are interested in putting a pine bonsai in your yard, you may want to think about hiring a professional to style it on a continual basis.

The Different Kinds of Pine Bonsai Trees

There are a few different kinds of pine bonsai trees that can be found around the world.

The mountain pine has very large needles, reminiscent of aloe vera needles. Originating from central Europe, they have adapted to withstand all weather conditions including harsh snowy regions and hot, dry deserts.

The Japanese black pine is native to Japan and is seen everywhere there. These pines can flourish in bad weather and questionable barren soils. It is said that this species of pine bonsai is the staple of Japan’s bonsai reputation.

The Scotch pine is found in northern Europe. At about 5 years of age it loses its lower needles and branches. You will find that the needles are often twisted, and a strange blue green or yellow color. With age, the bark of the tree turns rusty red and gets flaky.

The Japanese white pine is vigorous and also native to Japan, such as the Japanese black pine. The white pine bonsai is sometimes grafted onto the lower branches of the black pine to improve the black pine’s growth. Their needles look and feel more like leaves, and their color is white on the outside, with a blue tint to the inside of the leaf.